Hepatitis and other drug-related infectious diseases will be the focus of ‘Hepatitis week’, taking place at the EU drugs agency (EMCDDA) in Lisbon from 12–16 June 2017. The initiative will bring together some 100 specialists from: EU Member States, candidate and potential candidate countries to the EU, as well as partner agencies, civil society and professional organisations.
Hepatitis C is a liver disease caused by infection with the hepatitis C virus (HCV). HCV can cause both acute and chronic hepatitis infection, ranging in severity from a mild illness that lasts only a few weeks to a serious, lifelong illness resulting in cirrhosis and liver cancer.
Since the last ECDC rapid risk assessment, which was published on 24 February 2017, 10 EU Member States (Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Sweden and the United Kingdom (Public Health England and Health Protection Scotland) reported 387 new confirmed cases of hepatitis A, with one of the strains matching the three clusters currently circulating in the EU.
Malaria is caused by Plasmodium parasites. During the 20th century, malaria was eradicated from many temperate areas, including the whole of the EU. As a result, the disease is now essentially limited to tropical countries. Due to the large number of imported cases in Europe, malaria is mainly a travel medicine issue.
Malaria is caused by Plasmodium parasites. During the 20th century, malaria was eradicated from many temperate areas, including the whole of the EU, and is now limited to tropical countries. Due to the large number of imported cases in Europe, malaria is mainly a travel medicine issue.
1 173 confirmed hepatitis A cases involving three separate clusters have been reported across 15 countries of the European Union since June 2016. Several EU countries have seen large increases in hepatitis A cases in 2017 compared to previous years, and these are mainly affecting men who have sex with men.
The uptake of seasonal influenza vaccination in EU Member States has not reached the target levels in the 2009 Council Recommendations. This knowledge sharing workshop is intended to support communications activities surrounding national influenza vaccination campaigns, specifically campaigns targeting healthcare workers. The workshop will highlight good practices and success stories, as well as share encouraging and challenging experiences of the Member States’ campaigns. It will also discuss and consider ways ECDC can support Member States in their campaigns through the creation of a “community of practice”, and how best to achieve that via the existing platforms and tools.
Location:ECDC, Visiting address: Tomtebodavägen 11A, 171 65 Solna, Sweden. The meeting will be held in the ECDC main building in room 335.